Candles of Life II
by Gill Jr
Summary: See part I.


the pallor of the night moon. She then moved over and placed her head on his chest, just below his neck. He was a little surprised at first, but then, he reached up a hand to stroke her hair. She leaned into him, leaving absolutely no space between them. He kept on stroking her hair, until he felt her left hand rest protectively on his chest, next to her head. And then, he could have sworn that he felt her turn her head slightly and kiss him lightly on his chest. He smiled and returned the favor by kissing her the same way on the very top of her head.  
  
"I love you, Dana..." he whispered, stirring her hair a little.  
  
Dana's eyes opened at his words. She had heard him say them to her once before, when he was doped up on drugs at the hospital. She had believed him then, and she believed him now. She was surprised to hear herself whisper, "I love you, too." It was almost as if someone other than herself had forced the words out of her m outh. But she didn't care. She meant it. And to prove it, she kissed him on the neck.  
  
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**The next morning, Scully woke up alone in bed. Since just about all of her nights *were* spent alone, it was nothing new to her. It was then that she remembered Mulder.  
  
she panicked. But it was ten that she recognized the smell of coffee.  
  
_ Smiling, she stood up and got out of bed.  
  
"Morning, Scully," Mulder greeted her as she entered the kitchen.  
  
"Morning," she said as she plopped down on one of her stiff, hard-backed chairs.  
  
"I made us some coffee," he said, pouring it into two mugs.  
  
"Oh, great! Thanks, Mulder," she said as he handed her a mug. She got up from the table to put some cream and sugar in it, and then, she sat back down at the table.  
  
"Hey, Mulder, I forgot to mention this, but I'm visiting my mom tomorrow. She wants you to be there, too."  
  
"You sure you want me to go?" he asked.  
  
"Of course, Mulder. Besides, my mom can't get enough of you." He smiled.  
  
"Allright, then. I'll go with you."  
  
"Good," she smiled. She had another very important thing to ask him, but she decided to wait a few minutes. They sat there in silence for the next 3 minutes. It was then that she decided it would be the right time to ask her question.  
  
"Hey, Mulder?"  
  
"Yeah?" he asked, shifting his gaze to look at her.  
  
"I have a death wish."  
  
For a second there, it looked like Mulder's eyeballs were going to pop out of his head and fall to the table. For one instant, he forgot that she was dying. But he quickly regained his composure and asked,  
  
"Yeah? What is it?"  
  
"I want you to go on a camping trip with me."  
  
"With me?" he asked, almost as if he thought she wouldn't want him around.  
  
"Yes, with you, Mulder."  
  
"Why a camping trip?" he asked. He didn't very much like camping ever since he found a raccoon in his tent as a young boy.  
  
"Well, don't you think it would be fun?"  
  
Mulder hesitated. "Sure, I...guess so."  
  
"Great! Then it's settled," she said.  
  
"Scully, are you sure you'll be up to this? What if something happens to you, what if - "  
  
She cut him off. "Then we go home."   
  
There was another pause. "Look, Mulder. I have a first aid kit we can bring. Also, are you forgetting that I'm a doctor? We'll be just fine."  
  
There was another momentary pause. When Mulder never answered, and just kept staring at her, she decided to speak again.  
  
"So...will you go with me?" she pleaded with him.   
  
He thought about it some more. He would definitely have said 'yes' if Scully wasn't ill. But she was. It *was* her death wish, though. Who was he to deny it?  
  
"Allright," he gave in.  
  
"Thank you, Mulder." She put her hand on his. "You know, this means a lot to me."  
  
Making eye contact with her, he nodded his hand in understanding.   
  
"So when do we leave, and how long are we staying?" he asked.  
  
"I figured we could leave the day after tomorrow and stay for a week. We'll be going to a forest in Suttersville, Virginia."  
  
"Have you been there before? I mean...do you even *know* the place?"  
  
"Relax, Mulder. I went there a few times with my dad to go hunting. Besides, we won't venture very far into the forest."  
  
"Okay."  
  
And that was that.  
  
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The rest of that day was pretty much similar to the day before it. Scully made dinner again that night, (grilled chicken sandwiches and macaroni & cheese), and they watched a movie just before going to bed. Scully, as usual, changed into her PJ's in the bathroom while Mulder changed into his in her bedroom. And again that night, they cuddled just as they had the night before. But morning soon came.  
  
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Scully and Mulder both awoke at the same time to the loud ringing of her alarm clock. Scully nuzzled herself further into the chest of her partner, not wanting to get up. She stayed there for an extra minute, and then got up and headed for her shower.  
  
She came out of the bathroom ten minutes later, wearing only a towel, and dashed for her room for her clothes. Luckily, Mulder didn't see her. He was sitting on the sofa, watching TV again.  
  
She quickly put on her clothes, her crucifix, and lightly spritzed on her favorite perfume. She then went into her bathroom to brush out her hair, brush her teeth, and wash her face.  
  
When she was finally done with everything, she called Mulder.  
  
"Hey! You gonna take a shower, Mulder?" she asked, poking her head into the living room.  
  
"As if I need to!" he mocked.  
  
"Yeah, well, you were smelling kind of ripe last night. Come on, big guy. Hit the showers," she said, throwing a towel on his head.  
  
Smiling, he got up, pulling the towel off his head, and walked towards her with a mischievous grin on his face. He waited until he was behind her, and then snapped her on the butt with his towel.  
  
"Hey!" she exclaimed. She punched him lightly in the ribs.  
  
"Ow!" he said. He had to admit it: even though she wasn't trying, it *did* hurt a little.  
  
"Get in there!" she said, walking away.  
  
"Yes, ma'am!" he muttered, not realizing he'd said it loud enough for her to hear. She just turned around, smiling, and shook her head at him in mock disbelief.  
  
It was then that Mulder realized he was really having fun staying with Scully. They had so much more time to goof around than they did on the job. Smiling, he let his boxers fall to the floor and stepped into the shower.  
  
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After Mulder stepped out of the shower, the smell of breakfast flooded his nostrils. He wrapped his towel around his midsection and went back into Scully's bedroom to change. Once he'd finished changing, he grabbed his comb out of his duffel bag and combed his hair while walking into the kitchen.  
  
"Smells pretty good, Scully," he said as he entered the kitchen. "What are you making?"  
  
"Pancakes," she answered, "pancakes with a special ingredient of my own," she said, a slight smile on her face.  
  
"Oh, really?" he asked. "And what would that be? Alien DNA?" he joked.  
  
Still smiling, she said, "You'll just have to wait and see..." With that, she lifted a pancake off the grill and set it on a plate. She lifted three other pancakes off the skillet and placed them neatly on top of the other one. She then set the plate down in front of him, proudly. She sat there for a minute, waiting for his reaction. The top pancake had little chocolate chips formed in two, diagonal, intersecting lines, forming an 'X.'  
  
"Dig in!" Scully said, waiting for him to taste it. First, he poured maple syrup (and a whole lot of it) on his tower of pancakes. Then, he took a big bite out of it.  
  
"Well?" Scully asked.  
  
"Delicious," Mulder replied, mouth wide open while he was chewing.  
  
"Mmmm, good," Scully said, going back to the stove to check on her pancakes. She stood over the stove, monitoring her food for a few more minutes before it was ready. By that time, Mulder was only halfway done with his pancakes.  
  
She sat down and poured some maple syrup on her two pancakes and was just about done eating them when Mulder had finished eating his.  
  
"Hey, you almost ready to go?" Scully asked, getting up to put both of their plates in the sink.  
  
"Sure. Are you?" he asked.  
  
"Well, just about. All I have to do is blow-dry my hair, and then we'll be able to leave."  
  
"Okay." Mulder got up from the table to sit on the couch and wait for her, while Scully went to the bathroom to plug in her hair dryer. Within five minutes, her hair was done, and they were ready to go.  
  
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"Oh, Dana!" Mrs. Scully exclaimed after seeing her daughter at the door. She reached out and hugged her daughter closely.  
  
"How are you feeling?" she asked.  
  
"Fine, Mom. I'm doing great." And in all honesty, she was.  
  
"Hello, Fox!" Mrs. Scully said, reaching out to hug him.  
  
"Hi, Mrs. Scully. Good to see you again."  
  
"Come in," she said, inviting them both into her house.  
  
"Sit," she said, pointing to the couch. Once they'd sat down, she'd asked them if either of them wanted coffee, to which they'd both replied 'no.' they'd already drank a lot at breakfast. So instead of going into the kitchen, Mrs. Scully sat down in a chair opposite the couch, where Mulder and Scully were sitting.  
  
"So...what have you two been doing lately?" Mrs. Scully asked. Mulder knew that even though the question was addressed to both of them, it was meant more for Scully, so he let her answer.  
  
"Not too much, Mom. We've been staying at home, taking it easy, just relaxing."  
  
"Oh, that's good. No, you certainly shouldn't go rough on yourself. You need to relax as much as you can."  
  
"Yes, Mom, I know. I am." Then, the room grew uncomfortably silent, and Mulder knew that Scully wanted to talk alone with her mom.   
  
"Would it be okay if I used your bathroom, Mrs. Scully?" he asked.  
  
"Go ahead, Fox. It's the first door to the left," she pointed down the hall.  
  
"Thank you," he said, getting up to head down the hall. Mrs. Scully waited until she heard Fox shut the door to speak.  
  
"Dana?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, Mom?"  
  
"I need to know, dear...are you and Fox, um..."  
  
Dana shook her head adamantly. "Mom, I've told you this before, and I'll tell you again. Mulder is my partner at the FBI, and my best friend. There's nothing going on between us."  
  
"Dana, I can't believe that. I can't believe that you would lie to your own mother about this!" She used her finger to lift her daughter's chin, so that she would be forced to look at her. She continued.  
  
"Your father and I were best friends, too. I used the same excuse as you. I can see it in your eyes when you look at him and hear it in your voice when you speak of him! The same goes for Fox. I know that you love him, and I have absolutely NO doubt in my mind that he loves you, too." She paused again.  
  
"I think you should take advantage of your time left with him. Let him know that you love him."  
  
Realizing that her mom was absolutely right, she nodded and whispered, "Ok." It was just then that Mulder, who hadn't heard a word of their conversation, entered the room.  
  
"Well, I'm going to go back into the kitchen and watch the chicken," she said, getting up from her chair. "Go ahead and watch whatever you want on TV," she said, leaving the room.  
  
"Wanna watch some TV?" Scully asked him.  
  
"Sure. Why not?"  
  
She reached for the remote and instantly put on the Discovery Channel. To her surprise and delight, one of her favorite shows was on. It was Interior Motives, a show that had a very...um...colorful host.   
  
As soon as the man with the strange-sounding lisp talked, Mulder and Scully turned toward each other and burst out laughing, both knowing exactly what was on each other's minds. They watched the show for another half hour, when dinner was ready.  
  
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The dinner that night was delicious. Mrs. Scully had made her specialty: seasoned chicken. And no one made it better than she did.  
  
After dinner, Mrs. Scully, her daughter, and Mulder went out into the living room to talk. But not once did they mention Scully's cancer. She and her mother had agreed over the phone two nights ago that they would not speak of her cancer or mention her approaching death. They had agreed to talk about nicer things to make the evening memorable.  
  
They'd talked for hours, but neither Scully or her mother had wanted to say goodbye. But when the clock chimed the eleventh hour, it was painfully obvious that they needed to leave.  
  
"Well, Mom, we'd better get going. It's pretty late," scully said, standing up.   
  
"Okay, dear." Mrs. Scully and Mulder got up as well, and walked to the door.  
  
Tearfully, Scully turned around to face her mother. She studied her up and down, not wanting to forget one single detail of her. And as they looked each other in the eyes, they both knew it would be the last time they would see each other ever again.  
  
Scully reached out her arms to hug her mom. They held on to each other for a long time, hanging on to each other with incredible strength. A few tears slipped from Dana's eyes and rolled down her cheeks.  
  
"I love you so much, Dana," Maggie Scully told her daughter one last time.   
  
"I love you too, Mom." Scully turned her head to the side to kiss her mother's cheek. Her mother also kissed her cheek and let go of her daughter, but took hold of her hands.  
  
"Dana. You...you call me every night, okay?"  
  
"Of course, Mom. I promise." They hugged again, one last time. Then, Mrs. Scully reached out to hug the man that she wished so very badly could have been her son-in-law. She then released him and looked him in the eyes.  
  
"You take good care of my Dana, okay?  
  
"I will, Mrs. Scully," he promised, "I will."  
  
Despite the tears that blinded her, she was able to open the door for both of them.  
  
"Bye, Mom," Scully said, stepping onto the porch.  
  
"Goodbye, Dana," she said, watching her daughter leave with Fox's arm around her. This gesture made her cry even more. She watched them get into the car and slowly pull out of the driveway until they were on the street. Smiling, Fox and Dana waved at her. It was the last time she saw her beloved daughter.  
  
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The next morning, both Mulder and Scully awoke to the loud ringing of the alarm clock.  
  
"Oh...do I *have* to get up?" Mulder groaned.  
  
"Yes, Mulder. We both do." She slid out of his arms and went into the bathroom. She picked a towel from the rack and threw it to Mulder, who was still sprawled out in her sheets.   
  
"Your turn for the first shower this morning!" she said.   
  
Grumbling, Mulder grabbed the towel and stood up, walking to the bathroom.  
  
"Breakfast will be ready by the time you're done," she said. "Oh, and make sure you wash up really good. You won't be getting a shower for a week!" she reminded him.  
  
Grumbling some more, Mulder stepped into the shower.  
  
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All freshly-showered and squeaky clean, Mulder stepped into the kitchen.  
  
"What'd you make this time?" Mulder asked, sitting down at the table.  
  
"Egg bagles. Speaking of which, what do you like on yours?" she asked.  
  
"I'll have some cream cheese with strawberry jam, if you have it."  
  
"Wow...you like cream cheese with strawberry jam on your bagles, too? Hey, Mulder, you and I actually have something in common!" she teased.  
  
He laughed lightly and waited patiently for her to fix up his bagle.  
  
"Hey, Scully? What are we bringing with us?" he asked about the camping trip.  
  
"5 boxes of cereal, 14 hot dogs, two packages of buns, two loafs of bread, lots of lunch meat, and, oh, a huge bag of marshmellows for bedtime," she grinned.   
  
"Sounds good to me, Scully," he said as she came over to the table with their bagles. "But what if the lunch meat or the hot dogs spoil?"  
  
"Well, I'm going to put them in a cooler. And if they go bad somehow, there's a food store nearby."  
  
Mulder smiled. "Jeez, Scully. You have everything very well-planned!"  
  
She smiled modestly, but said nothing.  
  
"Hey, Scully? Two sleeping bags, or *one*?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows at her.  
  
"Two!!" she said, trying to fight the grin that was starting to appear on her face. That was one of their in-jokes from a couple years ago. Suddenly getting serious again, she asked, "You have a sleeping bag, right, Mulder?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Well, how about we stop at your place on the way there?"  
  
"Sounds like a plan."  
  
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"Scully? Are we there yet?" Mulder whined like a 10 year-old.  
  
"Patience is a virtue, Mulder! Now, to answer your question, we're really close. Be on the lookout for the 'welcome to Suttersville' sign." Sighing, Mulder turned his head and leaned back in his seat, glancing lazily out the window. They'd been driving for a few hours and had already made a couple of rest stops. He was feeling a little carsick. He just wished they'd get there sooner rather than later. It was then that he spotted the sign.  
  
"Hey, Scully? I just saw that sign you were talking about."  
  
"Great!" she looked over at his mopey form. "Don't worry, Mulder. We'll be there in about 5 minutes." He lightened up a little.  
  
Suddenly, Scully went off the main road and ventured onto a dirt road that slanted upwards. The tires made loud crunching sounds as they rolled over the gravel.  
  
Scully went a mile or two up the road until she reached the hill's plateau. To Mulder's delight, she parked the car and then shut off the ignition.  
  
he thought. His queasy stomach rejoiced. He went to the trunk of the car to help Scully get the tent out. He held one end of the folded-up tent while Scully got the other.  
  
"Where are we putting it, Scully?" With her free hand, she pointed to a small clearing not too far away from where they'd parked, yet it was slightly out-of-view.  
  
"Over there," she said.  
  
They walked a little ways into the forest and then set the tent down in a space where it fit perfectly.  
  
"Hey, Mulder? Would you go back to the trunk of the car and pull out the small brown bag? It has the stakes in there, and the hammer should be somewhere near it."  
  
"Ok." He walked back to the car, easily found the hammer and the stakes, and returned within a few minutes time.  
  
One thing Mulder never knew about his partner was that she was *very* skilled with setting up tents. They had it up right away. Mulder stood back to admire their handiwork, the place they would have to dwell in for one entire week.  
  
"Good work, Scully m'dear!" he said. She smiled at him.   
  
"Okay, next thing we need to unpack are the sleeping bags. Come on," she said, leading him to the car.  
  
After they'd put in their sleeping bags and pillows, it only took them a few more minutes to get everything else.   
  
Once they were done, they sat there on their sleeping bags, just thinking and staring off into space. Mulder was the first one to speak.  
  
"I'm hungry," he simply said. Scully laughed.  
  
"It's only 3 o'clock!"  
  
Sighing, Mulder fell back against his sleeping bag and found himself staring at the top of the tent, listening to the quiet sounds of the forest. It was very relaxing to listen to it.  
  
"It's really serene out here, Scully, isn't it?" he asked her.  
  
She turned over on her sleeping bag to look at him.  
  
"Very." She smiled at him. "Nothing has changed since my dad took me here."  
  
"Hey, you said you went hunting with him...right?" he asked.  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Well, those deer...or whatever you were hunting...they don't come around here, do they?"   
  
She smiled again. "Oh, no, they don't come around here. They like staying near a stream a few miles out. Nothing to worry about.  
  
Mulder said nothing after that, just concentrated on the sounds of the forest once again. But with Mulder, there was never a dull moment. He was getting wrestless.  
  
He sighed. Again. "I'm *bored.*"  
  
"Well, how about you put those hands to a good use and collect some firewood. That way, we can eat our hot dogs sooner."  
  
"Good idea," he said, getting up from his sleeping bag. He unzipped the tent, crawled out, and then zipped it shut, setting off on his search for firewood. He then noticed that to get some good wood, he'd have to go down a rather steep, rocky hill.  
  
he thought.  
  
Smiling at his own thoughts, he started down the hill.  
  
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A half hour later, Mulder returned to the tent carrying a bundle of thick, short branches. He then went off in search for smaller twigs, which were much more abundant. All-in-all, it had taken him almost a half hour tp fomd tje twigs. By that time, he was *really* hungry. He set up the logs and twigs and then called Scully out of the tent to light it. He figured she might use the old gunpowder method. He was surprised when she pulled out a blue matchbox that said "The Shoppe' on it. She held a lighted match to the twigs in the middle and lit them on fire instantly. Mulder had a look of amazement on his face. Scully noticed.  
  
"I made sure not to forget to bring matches," she said. "We "willI have a fire!" He laughed.  
  
"Hey, Scully, I don't know about you, but I'm starved. Can we start cooking our hot dogs now?" he asked.  
  
"sure. I'm pretty hungry, myself." She got up from where she was sitting and crawled back into the tent. She brought out the cooler and opened it, pulling out a package of hot dogs.  
  
"Have your stick ready?" she asked, tearing the package open.  
  
Mulder looked frantically around him until he came upon a good, long stick.  
  
"Yep!" He held it out for her to slip the hot dog on. he then held it just above the flames and patiently waited for it to cook.  
  
Scully had to actually get up to find a stick long enough. But it didn't take her long to find one. She came back, put a hot dog on her stick, and held it over the fire with one hand as she attempted to wrap up the other hot dogs in the package. Deciding that it would not work, she put the stick between her knees to free her hands. She made sure everything was wrapped up tightly and securely before slamming the cooler shut and refocusing her attention on her hot dog.  
  
A few minutes later, Mulder's hot dog was finished.  
  
"Hey, Scully, can you pass me the cooler so I can get a bun for my hot dog?" he asked. She grabbed the cooler with her left hand and met Mulder half-way. Opening up the cooler, he saw all the foods Scully had brought along with them. There were 14 water bottles - 1 for each day, and even Hein's ketchup and good, old stadium mustard.   
  
"Jeez, Scully...you *really* came prepared!"  
  
"Yep! And I had to drag along this huge cooler to fit everything, too!"  
  
Mulder pulled out the buns, took, one out, put his partially-burned hot dog in it and squirted on some ketchup and mustard. He then put everything back and leaned against the tree behind him, warming his feet by the fire. Scully had finished her own hot dog by then, and was ready to put it in a bun.  
  
Mulder took his first bite. He hadn't cooked a hot dog over a campfire in really long time. The taste surprised him.  
  
he thought. By that time, Scully was just about ready to take a bite of hers. She was also pleased with the results.   
  
"Pretty good, huh, Scully?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah! Almost as good as the hot dogs my dad and I made."  
  
Mulder smiled, knowing how fond she was of her father. Too bad him and his dad never got along.  
  
"So how many times have you been here with your father?"  
  
"Hmmmm..." she thought, smoothing a few strands of hair behind her ear.  
  
"I think once or twice," she replied. "A few years ago, me and my friend Ellen came here. She really loved it here, too." She smiled then, reminiscing.  
  
"Yeah? How long did you stay?" he asked.  
  
"Two days."  
  
Mulder took another bite of his hot dog, then asked, "So why do you want to stay out here so long?"  
  
"Because I thought it would be good for us. We both needed to come here, to get away from our problems for a while and just *be* together. I really think we'll have fun," she explained.  
  
Mulder smiled then, finishing his hot dog.  
  
"Hey, you got anything else to eat?" he asked, still hungry.  
  
"Well, there's 12 more hot dogs, but you know how that works...you have 6 more, and if you eat another one now, you won't have one for dinner tomorrow."  
  
"How about the marshmellows?" he asked, desperate.  
  
"Nope! I'm saving them for tonight. We can't eat them until nightfall," she grinned.  
  
"Huh?" he asked.  
  
"It's one of the cardinal rules of camping!" she explained.   
  
"Cardinal rules of camping..." Mulder muttered under his breath.  
  
Scully looked at her watch. It was 4:20.  
  
"Hey, Mulder? Wanna take a hike with me? We really don't have anything else to do."  
  
"Okay, sure," he said, getting up and brushing the dirt off his jeans.  
  
"Well, hold up, Mulder," she said. "We both need to bring a bottle of water with us." She unlatched the cooler and dug to the bottom, pulling out a bottle for herself, and one for Mulder. She then shut the cooler and put it inside their tent, zipping it back up once she'd crawled out.  
  
"Ready to go?" she asked.  
  
"Ready as I'll ever be," he replied.  
  
"Okay, then." Scully took the initiative to take the lead. Then, Mulder caught up with her and matched her pace. They walked on a man-made path. After a while, Mulder began to feel uneasy in such a huge forest with such humongous, towering trees.  
  
"Scully, you know the way back to our tent, right?"  
  
She laughed. "Of course I do! If you haven't noticed, we've been walking on a path the whole time. The only way we could get lost was if we wandered off the path, something I have no intention of doing."  
  
So they kept on walking until the path lead them to a gigantic hill.  
  
"Hey, uh, Scully...you don't plan on climbing this, do you?"  
  
"Sure I do! I've climbed this hill many times. You worried?" she asked.  
  
"I don't care about me, Scully. I just don't feel that you're up to this. I don't want to see you getting hurt," he said, sincerely.  
  
She looked down, took his hand, and held it in hers.  
  
"Mulder." She looked into his eyes. "I feel *fine.* And I know that just about every time I have said that to you in the past, it's been a lie. But now, I am telling you the truth. I feel alive! I feel great! I'm *ready* for this! I just need your trust."  
  
Mulder smiled. "Okay, Scully." Smiling back at him, she squeezed his hand and continued to hold it, all the way to the top of the hill.  
  
Once on top of the huge hill, Mulder and Scully found that they were almost elevated above the tops of the trees. Scully laughed.  
  
"Look, Mulder! You can almost see our tent from here!" she said. Suddenly, something disturbed her excitement. Looks like her old friend had returned for a visit.  
  
Quickly, she dove for her pocket and pulled out a tissue.  
  
"Oh, Scully..." he whispered, his heart breaking as he saw her dab at the blood coming from her nose.  
  
She sat down then, holding the tissue to her nose. Mulder sat down next to her.   
  
"Is there any way to stop it?" he asked.  
  
She shook her head. "No. We have to just wait for it to stop. It won't be long," she explained, trying to remain emotionally stable. Mulder could just hear the pain in her voice. His heart broke for her once again. He then put his hand on her back and smoothed it over her gently, trying to soothe her. It was then that she layed her head against his shoulder, biting her lip, still refusing to cry. She was Mulder's tough little soldier. Within a minute or two, the bleeding had stopped, and she was ready to leave and just get off the damned hill.  
  
"Let's go back to the tent, Mulder," she said.  
  
"Okay." She reached out for his hand again, which he eagerly gave to her.  
  
For an hour and a half, they walked back in the direction of their tent, hand-in-hand, drawing strength from one another. When they made it back, it was 7:30, and it was just starting to get dark.  
  
"Hey, Mulder. Won't be long before we can toast our marshmellows!" she said, trying to be cheerful.  
  
"Oh, good!" he said. "I'm still pretty hungry. You know what else? Nature's calling, Scully," he said.  
  
"Oh, great," she said, sarcastically. "Well, they *do* have a restroom here. Let me just grab my flashlight here, and I'll show you the way," she said, reaching for it inside the tent. When her hand came back out, Mulder saw that she was holding her huge flashlight, the one they'd used on their earlier cases.  
  
"You lugged along that big thing?" he asked.  
  
"Yep! Well, hey, it could be useful out here," she said. She then led him down the same path they went down before. They kept on walknig until they came to a fork in the road. Scully lead Mulder down the path on the left. They walked for a few more minutes, until they came upon a porta potty.  
  
"This is *it*?" Mulder asked.  
  
"This is it!" she repeated. "Have fun," she added.  
  
Smirking, Mulder opened the door and stepped in. He shut the door and left Scully outside to stand guard. She moved forward a little, waiting for him to finish. She looked up at the sky. It was really getting dark, and fast. She knew that when Mulder got out, she'd need to use her flashlight to make it back to the tent.  
  
Just then, Mulder flung the door open and stepped out.  
  
"Shall we?" Scully asked, turning on her flashlight.  
  
"We shall," he said, smiling.  
  
So they trudged forward with Scully's powerful flashlight in hand. And within 15 minutes, they arrived at their tent. Mulder sat down by teh fire.  
  
"Stay there," Scully said. "I'm going to put the flashlight back and bring out the marshmellows. See if you can find another good stick." Nodding, Mulder reached next to him and found the stick he'd used to make his hot dog.  
  
Scully came out of the tent, then, a bag of marshmellows in her hand. Seeing that he had a stick already, she handed him the bag and said, "Go ahead and start."   
  
Scully went looking near the tent for a good, long, clean stick. By the time she'd found one and had returned to the fire, Mulder was still trying to open the marshmellow bag. Sighing, she took it from him.  
  
"Jeez, Mulder, don't you know how to open a bag of marshmellows?" she teased. Opening it easily on her first try, she handed it back to a smiling Mulder.  
  
She then sat down next to him and waited for him to finish getting his marshmellows out of the bag. She reached in, took out two marshmellows, and strung them on the end of her stick, on top of each other. Setting the bag down between them, she put her stick over the fire. They didn't say anything for a while, until they'd finished toasting their marshmellows. Scully was the first one to take a bite of hers. It was slightly brown, had a hardened outer layer, but was gooey inside - just the way she remembered.  
  
"Wow, Mulder. These are great!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
